Pelvic Health Physical Therapy

Are you currently pregnant and looking for tools to support your pregnancy, prepare for childbirth, and prepare for postpartum recovery?

Are you dealing with bowel or bladder incontinence or frequent urination?

Are you struggling to return to exercise or sexual activity postpartum?

Are you looking to reduce pelvic pain so that you can return to activities that you love?

Our Pelvic Health Physical therapist is passionate about helping her clients build resilience and confidence in their own bodies and enhance their connection between mind and body.

Pelvic Health Physical Therapy in Minnesota

You deserve to feel comfortable and confident in your body, enjoy activities that you love, and feel equipped with tools to help you navigate changes in your body. Pregnancy and postpartum, injuries, and different medical conditions can impact your pelvic health, and these concerns are unfortunately often overlooked.

We want to ensure that your needs and concerns are always heard, that your goals feel supported, and that you progress at a pace that feels comfortable and safe for you. At Minnesota Attachment Collective, we offer unique full 50-minute sessions to ensure that we have enough time to understand and support your goals.

Who Benefits from Pelvic Health Physical Therapy?

Anyone with a pelvis can benefit from pelvic floor PT! 

  • Pregnancy/postpartum - The pregnancy and postpartum periods involve significant physical, hormonal and emotional changes which lead to tissue adaptations, changes in coping mechanisms and a more sensitive nervous system.

    • Pregnancy: 

      • Those who are pregnant can benefit from Pelvic Floor PT to stay active and strong throughout their pregnancy, reduce pain, and to prepare for labor and delivery. 

      • A birth preparation visit may include: education on the role of the pelvic floor during labor,  perineal stretching, pushing techniques, exercises for pelvic and hip mobility, options for pain management and strategies for staying active during labor as well as a discussion about early postpartum recovery. 

    • Postpartum: 

      • Once postpartum, always postpartum. Postpartum individuals can benefit from pelvic floor PT at any point in their lives to address acute or chronic concerns associated with pregnancy and childbirth such as: weakness, bladder or bowel incontinence, pelvic organ prolapse, perineal tearing, scar tissue tenderness or tightness (perineal or cesarean), pain or fear with returning to exercise (lifting, running, HIIT, etc.) or sexual activity, back/neck/shoulder pain or tension associated with feeding or holding your baby or other musculoskeletal pain such as pelvic, coccyx (tail bone) or hip.

      • Individuals can schedule a visit as early as 1-week postpartum to discuss early postpartum rehabilitation, feeding positions, healthy bowel and bladder habits, lifting mechanics and pressure management strategies. 

      • The 6-week “clearance” for returning to exercise and sexual activity is not a magic or universal timeframe for physical or emotional readiness to return to activities. After 9 months of tissue adaptations and significant physical and possibly emotional trauma, as well as hormonal fluctuations and sleep deprivation, the body does not “bounce back” at 6-weeks postpartum. Pelvic floor PT will offer guidance on how to gradually and progressively return to activities, and we will discuss realistic timeframes for rehabilitation that are based on tissue healing timelines, progressive loading techniques, and personal values and experiences rather than “bounce back” culture. 

  • Those Experiencing Pain - You may be experiencing pain that is related or unrelated to pregnancy or postpartum. We’re here to help you reduce pain and engage in movement that you love!

    • A wide variety of pain conditions can be addressed with pelvic floor PT including: endometriosis, vulvodynia, vestibulodynia, vaginismus, dyspareunia, IC/bladder pain syndrome, coccydynia (tailbone pain), post-operative pain or scar tissue restrictions associated with abdominal/hip/pelvic or lumbar surgeries as well as hip pain and low back pain.

    • When addressing pain, we focus on tools and strategies for calming the nervous system, stress management, sleep, nutrition, pacing, and movement. We focus on an active approach to therapy as well as the importance of mental health and stress management. Chronic pain conditions often involve a team approach, and with your consent, we will collaborate with other providers to optimize your well-being.

What is Pelvic Health Physical Therapy?

Pelvic Health PT is a space where typically “taboo” topics of conversation and bodily concerns are normalized and validated.

  • These topics may include but are not limited to: 

    • Bowel or bladder incontinence

    • Constipation

    • Pain or other concerns with sexual activity

    • Urinary urgency or frequency

    • Bladder pain

    • Feelings of pelvic pressure or heaviness

    • Difficulty controlling the passage of gas with exercise or other activities

  • Pelvic health PT encompasses a full body approach to rehabilitation, addressing not only the pelvis but also the coccyx (tail bone), hips, low back, diaphragm and abdominal muscles. 

  • Evaluations may assess movement patterns, strength, lifting mechanics, breathing strategies, range of motion, coordination, scar tissue mobility or tissue tenderness.

    • An in-person session may include an internal vaginal or rectal pelvic floor muscle assessment with the use of 1 gloved finger to determine muscle strength, endurance, coordination or tender points. This type of assessment will be described in detail during the session and is always an optional component of care with your consent. Evaluations and treatment plans are based upon each individual’s unique goals, concerns and life experiences. We will discuss your health, obstetric and surgical history in-depth as well as your lifestyle, sleep habits, bowel/bladder health and life stressors to determine the big picture drivers of your symptoms. Sessions are always collaborative in nature, and are driven by careful listening, curiosity and exploration.

We Offer a Special Connection Between Trauma Informed Care and Pelvic Health PT

We know that concerns around pelvic health can feel vulnerable and complicated. Whether your needs are due to pregnancy or postpartum, injuries, or a medical condition- we want to make sure that your care comes from a trauma-informed approach.

Our pelvic health physical therapist, Sari Abelson, values holding space for both the physical and mental health aspects of your care. Sari will make sure that your experiences and needs are understood and will collaborate with you to ensure that you feel comfortable and safe each step of the way.

We also have mental health therapists as well as an infant and toddler sleep consultant so that we can offer you a team-approach for your care. Meet our other providers here.

What Does Pelvic Health Physical Therapy Look Like at Minnesota Attachment Collective?

At MN Attachment Collective, we take a collaborative and individualized approach to therapy. Currently, all sessions are offered via telehealth. In-person sessions will be offered in the near future.

A session may consist of a movement assessment, progressive strengthening exercises, postpartum return to run guidance, manual therapy (in a telehealth visit, clients will be guided in techniques that they can perform individually or with the assistance of a partner), mindfulness, stress reduction strategies, breathwork and instruction in the use of therapeutic tools for the pelvic floor muscles (such as wands or dilators).

  • Goals for therapy may include: 

    • The ability to:

      • Remain active throughout pregnancy

      • Engage in pain-free sexual activity

      • Sit up in bed or get out of a recliner while holding your baby without discomfort and with greater ease postpartum

      • Insert a tampon pain-free
        Feel more connected to your postpartum body 

      • Have a speculum examination pain-free

      • Return to running postpartum

      • Return to exercise such as HIIT, cross-fit, etc. postpartum

      • Sneeze, laugh, run, jump or lift without leakage

      • Lengthen the pelvic floor muscles in preparation for pushing during labor

      • Exercise or perform daily activities with reduced pelvic pressure or heaviness 

      • Lift children off the floor or out of a crib pain-free

      • Wear jeans over a cesarian scar without discomfort 

      • Breast or bottle feed your baby with decreased neck/shoulder or upper back pain or tension 

      • Have a bowel movement without straining

      • Walk around the lake without needing to stop to use the bathroom

We are here to help.

You don’t have to feel alone in your pelvic health concerns. At Minnesota Attachment Collective, we are here to normalize and support these concerns so that you can engage in activities that you love!

We Want to Help Hold Space for Your Healing

While pelvic health concerns are often overlooked in the medical system, we are here to help you heal and reconnect with your body in ways that you love! Whether your symptoms are due to pregnancy or postpartum, an injury, a medical condition, or just something you’ve always lived with- there is room for healing.

You deserve support through different life transitions that feels comfortable and safe as well as helps you to connect to goals that are important to you. When you come to Minnesota Attachment Collective for Pelvic Health Physical therapy, you will have the time and space to work on what is important to you and feel supported every step of the way.

You’ve got someone on your team!

Sari Abelson is our fabulous Pelvic Health Physical therapist. She values a collaborative approach and is excited to be on your care team.

Are you ready to hold space for healing? We would be honored to get to be a part of your process.

Let’s work together.

For those located in the Twin Cities, we have in-person therapy sessions available in St. Paul. We also have virtual therapy sessions available to anyone who lives in Minnesota.